Fpl Eliminates 1,500 Jobs

In its first announcement about its corporate reorganization, Florida Power & Light said on Tuesday that it has eliminated about 1,500 jobs around the state.

But the total number of workers leaving Florida`s largest utility will not be known for another few months, FPL President Stephen E. Frank said.

``Although a work force reduction was not a primary objective, it is clear that we have fewer positions in the restructured FPL than we have current employees,`` Frank said.

When the reorganization program began in October, the number of jobs at FPL -- which serves 35 counties in the state -- totaled about 19,600. That included 16,100 FPL positions and 3,500 contract jobs, which are filled by non-FPL employees on an as-needed basis.

Current job eliminations include 1,070 FPL positions and 430 contract positions. Information about severance packages will be mailed this week to about 1,400 workers, the company said.

The corporate slimdown accompanies the utility`s recent back-to-basics focus. FPL Group, the utility`s parent, began an ill-fated diversification program during the 1980s that drew the company into businesses ranging from cable television and real estate to insurance services.

During the past few years, FPL Group decided to sell off all of its non- utility companies and focus on the operations of FPL, which last year hired a barrage of consultants to evaluate its internal structure. The decision to reorganize was made in order to improve cost effectiveness and streamline management.

FPL managers evaluated the necessity of every position at the company. They also required all employees to reapply for their jobs and chose who they determined was the best person for the job.

But many FPL employees are critical of how the reorganization has been carried out. In response to an open invitation to call two weeks ago, FPL workers complained to the Sun-Sentinel about the way people were selected for jobs.

Many said that being chosen for a position depended more on knowing the right people at the company than on job performance. Claims that older workers were deliberately being pushed out of the company and that many people were offered lesser jobs at lower salaries were repeated again and again.

Most people would not leave their names, saying they feared retribution from FPL managers.

The utility`s reorganization follows its winning of the coveted Japanese Deming Award for quality in November 1989. FPL emphasized the importance of quality improvement for several years before the recognition and said it involved all employees in achieving the award.

``After going through the Deming challenge, now we are going through this restaffing and it`s in total chaos,`` said Reginald Allen, 33, who was not rehired for his job as an assistant storekeeper at the Port Everglades power plant, where he worked in inventory control.

``This deal of picking the best people for the job is all just a big mess,`` said Allen, of Hallandale. While it will be hard to find a job that matches his $35,750 salary at FPL, Allen said he plans to leave the company after almost 12 years.

Allen said he does not want to participate in the Internal Placement Program, which is designed to match jobless employees with new positions at FPL. The information being mailed this week gives employees a choice between the placement program or leaving the company, FPL spokesman Dale Thomas said.